Andrea Brown agent Mary Kole is doing a "novel beginnings" contest over at kidlit.com. Send her up to 500 words of your completed MG or YA novel by January 31st and you could win a critique of up to 15 pages of your book! Visit her website for more details.

Sourcebooks has created a new YA imprint called Sourcebooks Fire. Between February 1 and February 28th, YA writers are invited to submit their fiction for consideration. Please read the details and rules posted at Georgia McBride's blog!

Both Rachelle Gardner and Michael Hyatt posted this week on what it means if you just can't seem to find a home for your writing after months...no, years of trying. Read Rachelle's to get-it-straight, no-BS, the-reason-you're-stuck-after-all-this-time. And then limp over to Michael's page to figure out how to pick yourself up again.

On a cheerier note, St. Martin's Press recently coined the term "New Adult fiction" to refer to fiction geared toward young adults who are still figuring out what it means to be a grownup. Read more about this new genre at Guide to Literary Agents.